With trepidation mixed with a healthy dose of adrenaline and optimism I put the Snipe in the waters of Toronto Lake in Kansas. I was a little concerned for various reasons. The lake was extremely low and even when sailing on the north side thirty feet from shore my daggerboard was scraping the mud bottom. I should have trusted the signs-- "Warning Lake Dangerously Low For Boating"... The telltale tops of dead trees sticking out of the water here and there like shards of glass where foreboding enough when I had to beach launch from the boat ramp. I also was a little freaked-out that there wasn't a lake marina to call for help if I capsized or worse yet, "turtled". I had the local sheriff's number in my waterproof cell phone--as if that would even help if something went wrong... The wind was fairly strong. I would put it at 15mph with gusts to maybe 20.
So... "Screw it", I thought. I just need the experience and the worse that would happen--as the wife said---would be to ditch the sailboat and swim to shore...! What...??? really??? ditch. the. boat. ??? no way! I love the, "Grape Escape" and this is just a lake not the ocean, and a small one by Lake Michigan, standards.
Off I went. I had one of the best times ever while sailing. It was a blast. Solo was great. The sailboat was flying and I felt it was sailing better than ever...
It was the BEST when I picked-up my wife and we sailed together on long beats for thirty minutes at a time and sailing fast....! She said it was her best time sailing and therefore it made it mine...!
Cheers,
Todd Pipia
